Morning People

There are strangers living in my house. People who are, as evidenced by their daily routine, strangers. They look very similar to my wife and I but they're different in what they do and when they do it. They could possibly be aliens, body snatchers.

Just about every morning at the sound of the alarm clock these strangers emerge from their temporpedic cocoon in their sleep chamber and stalk about doing things at previously unimaginable hours. We are victims of ....THE ATTACK OF THE MORNING PEOPLE!

Now the initial stages of this "invasion" began back in the middle of September when I started working day shift at ShopNBC. Both of us had to be up and out of the house before 7:30. I don't know why but the process of 2 people getting ready for work in the morning is a lot more complicated than just a single person. So we started changing. We set our alarms for 5:30AM. We also started going to bed earlier; between 10 and 11PM.As the days have gone by we have gotten more and more used to getting up early.

This is a big change for a couple who, back when I worked day shift at Perot Systems, used to stay up until midnight or longer on a regular basis; even later on weekends.

Now this may seem like much ado about nothing but our lifestyle and our household has always revolved around late night hours. As I said we used to stay up late and our sons would keep our house busy by staying up until all hours with their friends or just on their own.

Now back to those "Morning People". Because of the time change this past weekend, at least for a while, my only opportunity to walk my dogs in the cemetery, which can only be done during the daylight, will be in the morning. Eventually when as winter sets in it won't be light enough before I have to leave for work or after I get home. When that happens until early next year, about March, I'll have to walk them through town in the dark.

This past Monday morning, for the first time since we turned the clocks back, I was dressed and ready to take the dogs out for a walk. As I opened the door my lovely wife was sitting watching TV and surfing on her computer while drinking her 1st cup of coffee. I told her I'd be back soon and went to leave.

Before I walked out the door in my hooded sweatshirt and with the dogs anxiously pulling on the leashes held in my right hand my wife reluctantly asked me a question. " Do you realize we've become morning people?" It was the truth but not something we ever thought we would have to admit. We've changed. We ARE morning people. The invasion has been revealed.